


Not Another High School Romance

by owltype



Category: DBSK | Tohoshinki | TVfXQ | TVXQ, JYJ (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Past Abuse, Past Attempted Rape/Non-Con
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-09
Updated: 2015-04-09
Packaged: 2018-03-22 00:08:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3708111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/owltype/pseuds/owltype
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yunho falls in love with Jaejoong the minute he sees him. Unfortunately, Jaejoong has a reputation of being aloof and standoffish; but for whatever reason, Yunho is different, and a tentative relationship grows between them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not Another High School Romance

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the 2014 JaeHo Exchange. It's been cleaned up a bit.

"You're in my spot."

Yunho looked up and into the eyes of an angel. "What?" He asked belatedly.

The beauty rolled his eyes. "You're in my spot," he repeated slowly, enunciating each word. "This is my desk."

Yunho smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry. I'm new here," he explained as he gathered up his textbook and pencil case.

"Evidently," the beauty mumbled and flopped into the recently vacated chair. "Why are you still here?"

Yunho, undeterred by the other man's unpleasantry, pointed to a desk to his right and asked, "Does anybody sit here?"

"No," the other answered, lips pursed tight and annoyance flashing in his eyes.

"Great!" Yunho said and slid onto the seat. "I'm Jung Yunho, by the way," he said and held out his hand.

The beauty looked at it, considering. "Kim Jaejoong," he said finally and slid his palm across Yunho's.

\-----

"I met somebody today," Yunho said as he sat down.

Changmin glanced at him over the pages of his book but didn't comment.

Junsu picked up the trail of conversation. “Who is she?”

"He."

"Oh yeah. The gay thing," Junsu said.

Changmin kicked him under the table.

"Who is he?" Junsu asked, his voice pained.

"His name is Kim Jaejoong," Yunho said dreamily.

Junsu choked on his milk. "No no no, you do not want to get mixed up in that," Junsu said after he'd caught his breath.

"What? Why not?"

"Jaejoong-hyung is the prissiest, most conceited person on this planet," Junsu said. "He makes kittens cry."

Changmin rolled his eyes. "You're being dramatic."

"I am not!" Junsu shouted a little too loudly, and the people at the tables surrounding theirs turned to look at him in question. "I'm not," he repeated more quietly.

"I'm confused," Yunho admitted.

Changmin sighed, world-weary, and closed his book. "Junsu-hyung and Jaejoong-hyung go way back. They were in a band once."

"Don't remind me," Junsu mumbled.

"What happened?" Yunho asked curiously.

"A lot of drama," Junsu hedged.

Changmin scoffed. ""Drama?" You were a complete prat!"

"I was not!"

"You told him he was bad at singing," Changmin pointed out.

"I did not! I only told him he should practice more."

"You were just jealous."

"Anyway," Junsu said, turning back to Yunho. "Over the years he's become progressively more...prickly. It's hard to get close to him. The only person on this campus who can stand to be near him is Yoochun-hyung."

"I like him," Yunho said quietly. "There's something about him — I just think there’s more to him than you give him credit for."

"Hey, man, go for it," Junsu said. "I'm just telling you, it's going to be a challenge."

"I think it's one I'm up for," Yunho said, smiling.

\-----

"Hi," Yunho said brightly.

Jaejoong looked up at him and scowled. "Can I help you?"

"Yeah, actually. I was wondering if you could show me to the library. I'm a little lost," Yunho said sheepishly.

Jaejoong sighed, packed away his books, and stood up from his prone position on the floor. "Come with me," he said with a little wave.

They set off down the corridor in silence, the only sound the shuffling of their feet on the tile and the echoes of the other students in their lecture halls. Yunho didn't mind, since the quiet gave him time to think.

Since his talk with Junsu and Changmin the other day, Yunho had spent a lot of time watching and contemplating Jaejoong. He had come to see what Junsu meant when he called Jaejoong “prickly.” The older man really didn’t let people get close to him, usually chasing them off with a scowl or biting sarcasm--unless it was his best friend, Park Yoochun. Those two could be seen together all the time, laughing and talking in easy camaraderie.

The juxtaposition between the way Jaejoong acted around others and how he acted with Yoochun was curious. When he was with Yoochun, Jaejoong seemed warm and kind and happy. With anybody else, Jaejoong was…closed off, to say the least. Yunho wondered what had happened to make Jaejoong so untrusting of other people.

Even more curious was why Jaejoong tolerated Yunho. By all counts, and according to Junsu, Yunho shouldn’t even register on Jaejoong’s radar. Yet somehow, though Yunho wouldn’t exactly call him friendly, Jaejoong was at least civil to Yunho.

So wrapped up in his thoughts was he, Yunho didn’t notice that Jaejoong had stopped until he ran into the older man.

“Sorry,” Yunho said, reaching out to steady Jaejoong.

“We’re here,” Jaejoong said, indicating the library doors.

“Thanks,” Yunho said with a warm smile. “You’re a life saver.”

“Don’t be dramatic,” Jaejoong said. His words sounded derisive, but Yunho could see the corners of his lips twitching, like he was about to smile.

Jaejoong turned to walk away then, but Yunho quickly grabbed him by the wrist to stop him. Jaejoong looked down at Yunho’s hand on his skin then slowly raised his gaze to meet Yunho’s.

“What?” Jaejoong asked, his voice soft.

Yunho really didn’t know what to say, he just hadn’t wanted Jaejoong to leave. But Jaejoong was looking at him expectantly, his eyes intense, so Yunho said quickly, “Do you, um, do you want to hang out sometime?”

Jaejoong’s gaze bore into Yunho’s, like he was searching for something. After a moment, Jaejoong spoke. “Maybe. We’ll see,” he said and shook himself loose from Yunho’s hold.

Later that night, when Yunho was stretched out across Changmin’s bed, lamenting on his current predicament, Changmin said, “Well, it wasn’t a no.”

\-----

“You should go out with him!” Yoochun said.

“Not go out, hang out,” Jaejoong said pointedly.

Yoochun waved his hand, unconcerned. “Semantics. They basically mean the same thing. Besides, word on the vine is Yunho has the hots for you.”

A red flush crept into Jaejoong’s cheeks. “Really?”

“Oh yeah,” Yoochun said emphatically. “Today in the locker-room, he was telling Junsu about how pretty he thinks you are.”

“Pretty,” Jaejoong scoffed. He let his head fall forward to rest on his arms. “This can’t be happening to me,” he said.

“Why not? You are pretty.”

“That’s the point,” Jaejoong said bitterly. “That’s the only thing people see. They don’t really care about me as person.”

“Maybe Yunho’s not like that,” Yoochun pointed out. “Give the guy a chance.”

“I don’t know…” Jaejoong said, trailing off.

“We could always give it another try,” Yoochun said, smiling suggestively.

Jaejoong laughed. “The first time was a disaster,” he said. “The second time would probably kill us.”

Yoochun nodded his head in defeat. “Very true. Oh well, can’t blame a guy for trying.”

Jaejoong threw a pillow at his head.

\-----

The next morning, Yunho met Jaejoong at his locker.

“Good morning,” he said.

Jaejoong shut his locker and turned to look at Yunho. “Hi,” he said guardedly.

“Did you give my invitation any thought?” Yunho asked.

“I did,” Jaejoong said. He turned to walk toward his first class; Yunho stepped in beside him.

“Well?” Yunho prompted, trying to keep the nervousness out of his voice.

Jaejoong hid a smile behind his wrist, enjoying watching Yunho squirm. It had been a while since he’d last flirted with anybody. He had to admit, he’d kind of missed it.

“Well,” Jaejoong said slowly, “what did you have in mind?”

Yunho’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. Butterflies erupted in Jaejoong’s stomach upon having that 100 watt smile focused solely on him.

“Nothing major,” Yunho said in a rush, excitement getting the better of him. “I mean, I don’t know, maybe we could just go to a movie, or go get pizza or something? And if you’re uncomfortable going as just the two of us, you can invite Yoochun and I’ll invite Changmin and Junsu…” Yunho trailed off.

Jaejoong stopped outside the door of his classroom and turned to face Yunho. “A movie sounds great,” he said with a smile.

“Okay,” Yunho said breathlessly. “Pick you up Friday night at eight?”

Jaejoong nodded, trying to hide the blush that was creeping into his cheeks, and abruptly turned on his heel to walk into the classroom. Yunho watched him go, a smile on his face and an excited chill crawling up his spine.

\-----

“Seriously, Jaejoong, you look fine,” Yoochun said exasperatedly.

“I don’t want to look fine. I want to look hot,” Jaejoong said as he discarded another shirt with a little shake of his head.

“Jae, you would look hot wearing a burlap sack.”

Jaejoong smiled at the compliment. “You always know what to say,” he said as he finally settled on a shirt.

\-----

Jaejoong jumped when the doorbell rang and turned toward the door hesitantly.

Yoochun rolled his eyes. “I’ll get it,” he said and pulled open the door.

Yunho stood out on the stoop, shuffling back and forth on his feet, apparently just as nervous as Jaejoong. Yoochun ushered him in and shut the door behind him. Jaejoong stepped forward to receive him with a smile.

“Wow,” Yunho breathed, awe showing plainly on his face. “You look…amazing.”

Jaejoong ducked his head down to hide his blush.

“I’m sorry I didn’t bring anything,” Yunho continued. “I don’t know what you like, and flowers seemed wrong.”

“I hate flowers,” Jaejoong said with a laugh. “But I like chocolate,” he added.

Yunho smiled. “I’ll remember that for next time,” he promised.

Yoochun rolled his eyes. “Are you two going to finish this love fest soon? Remember, I am still in the room.”

Jaejoong shot Yoochun a glare over Yunho’s shoulder. “Yunho, I’d like you to meet my very rude friend, Park Yoochun.”

Yunho and Yoochun shook hands, and then Yoochun was shoving them out the door. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” he called out after them.

Jaejoong turned and stuck his tongue out at him.

\-----

Yunho, aided by the light from his cell phone, guided Jaejoong down the aisle toward a pair of seats as close to the exact middle of the theatre as they could get.

“This is nice,” Jaejoong said as they sat down.

Yunho handed Jaejoong the popcorn after taking a few pieces for himself. “The sound is the best here,” he said.

“I never noticed that before. Usually I’m stuck sitting in the back of the theatre,” Jaejoong said, a touch of bitterness in his voice. At Yunho’s questioning look, Jaejoong elaborated. “Other dates I’ve been on, the guys always brought me back there so they could try to fool around with me.”

Yunho frowned. “Those guys were jerks,” he said. “I would never do that to you.”

Jaejoong took a sip of his drink to hide his smile.

\-----

After the movie, Yunho took Jaejoong home. Jaejoong invited him to stay, and they sat out on the porch for a couple of hours, just talking and enjoying each other’s company. When Yunho noticed it was almost midnight and he was close to missing his curfew, Jaejoong let him kiss him on the cheek before he left. He watched Yunho leave and as soon as his car was out of sight, Jaejoong called Yoochun.

“Well?” Yoochun asked as a preamble.

“Yunho is very…gentlemanly,” Jaejoong said.

“You mean, he didn’t try to grope you like every other idiot you’ve tried to date?”

Jaejoong laughed. “It was definitely a nice change of pace. Anyway,” Jaejoong continued, “I agreed to go out with him again next Friday.”

“Awesome. I’ll start writing a song for your wedding.”

“Haha,” Jaejoong said sarcastically.

\-----

Things continued that way for a couple of months. Every weekend, Yunho and Jaejoong would go on a date. Usually they went to a movie and then out for pizza afterward. One particularly fun date occurred to them on a whim. Both rather tired of the usual dinner-and-a-movie trope, they decided to go to a new teen club that had recently opened. The club offered all kinds of amenities: a snack and juice bar, a dance floor, even noraebang. Yunho enjoyed listening to Jaejoong sing, and Jaejoong was entranced by the way Yunho moved when he danced. It became a running joke between them that they would run away from home to join a boyband.

After every date, Yunho would drive Jaejoong home and they would spend an hour or two out on the porch. Those moments were some of Jaejoong’s favorites. He loved to listen to Yunho talk about his old school and the friends he had left behind. For his part, Yunho was amused by the antics of Jaejoong’s eight older sisters.

At the end of every date, Yunho would lean in close to Jaejoong and kiss him on the cheek. The brush of those soft lips on his skin sent flutters racing down Jaejoong’s spine, and he yearned for more yet was hesitant to take things further.

“When are you two going to, as they say in America, create the beast with two backs?” Yoochun asked him one afternoon as they relaxed in a quiet corner on the school quad.

Jaejoong blanched. “Don’t be vulgar,” he said, glancing around them to make sure nobody else had overheard.

“Relax,” Yoochun said. “It’s no secret what’s going on between you and Yunho. They’d be stupid to miss the doe eyes you shoot his way; and every time Yunho looks at you, he gets that goofy smile on his face. My question is: why won’t you take things to the next level?”

Jaejoong pulled his legs in tight against his chest and rested his chin on his knees. “I’m just…not ready,” he said.

Yoochun placed a gentle hand on Jaejoong’s shoulder. “I know things were bad for you in the past, but you have to trust Yunho; he’s a good guy.”

\-----

The next few days, Jaejoong avoided Yunho. He hid from him at school; he wouldn’t answer Yunho’s calls or text messages; and when Yunho came over to his house to talk, Jaejoong made one of his sisters cover for him while he hid out in his bedroom.

Jaejoong knew he was being foolish, as well as unfair to Yunho, but his conversation with Yoochun had really freaked him out. He didn’t want to talk to Yunho again until he got his thoughts in order. He knew things would only get more convoluted, and he didn’t want to argue with Yunho.

Unfortunately, his sisters took it upon themselves to decide for him that he had pouted for too long and that he should “just deal and get it over with.”

“Those traitors,” Jaejoong muttered to himself when eight sets of hands pushed Yunho through his bedroom door then shut it resolutely behind him. 

See if I ever help them through one of their relationship issues again, Jaejoong thought to himself.

Yunho stood, resolute, in the center of Jaejoong’s room, his eyes intense and a frown on his face. Jaejoong squirmed under Yunho’s gaze. Unable to face Yunho’s hurt and anger, Jaejoong turned away from him to glare at a spot on his wall.

“I’m right here, Jaejoong; you can’t ignore me forever,” Yunho said.

Jaejoong remained silent.

“The least you owe me is an explanation,” Yunho continued. “I think that’s only fair.”

Yunho’s condescending tone rankled Jaejoong, and irritation began to bubble under his skin. He turned his glare on Yunho. “I told you I needed some space,” he said, his tone icy.

“Your sisters told me you needed space,” Yunho corrected. “But obviously they too feel you’re being unreasonable,” he said, gesturing to the door where Jaejoong was sure his sisters were eavesdropping.

“So not only have you not respected my wishes, but now you’re calling me names,” Jaejoong said and immediately wished he hadn’t. Never before had he sounded so petty. This was why he avoided confrontation: it was never conducive, and he always wound up saying things he’d later regret.

Yunho heaved a great sigh and stopped just short of rolling his eyes. “I don’t want to disrespect you,” he said patiently. “I just want to know what I did to upset you.”

Jaejoong shrugged his shoulders uncomfortably. “Nothing.”

“Bullshit,” Yunho deadpanned; Jaejoong winced. He had never heard Yunho swear before. “You don’t suddenly stop talking to somebody unless they did something to upset you.”

“Yunho, I--”

“Do you not want to be with my anymore?” Yunho asked.

Jaejoong gaped at him. “No, of course not. Why would you think that?”

It was Yunho’s turn to look uncomfortable. “It’s just — I was really enjoying spending time with you and I thought you felt the same way. But then you completely cut me out, and I wasn’t sure what you were thinking. I thought maybe you wanted to break up with me.”

Jaejoong sighed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to give you the wrong idea.”

Yunho walked closer to the bed and sat on the edge. He took Jaejoong’s hands and laced their fingers together. “I didn’t do anything wrong, did I? I’m sorry if I did.”

Jaejoong laughed bitterly. “You were great. I’m the one with the problem.”

“Nonsense,” Yunho said with a smile. “You’re perfect.”

Jaejoong looked away from Yunho. “No. I have too much trouble trusting people. When things get too serious, I tend to run away. As you can see.”

Yunho put two fingers underneath Jaejoong’s chin and tilted his head up to look at him. “There has to be a reason for that,” he said gently.

Jaejoong closed his eyes against the onslaught of memories, and a shudder ran through his body.

“I’m sorry,” Yunho said. “I don’t mean to pry. I just want to understand. I want to help you.”

Jaejoong opened his eyes and looked at Yunho. Yunho quaked under the intensity of Jaejoong’s gaze and again got the feeling that Jaejoong was examining him intently, as though searching for some trace of dishonesty. Yunho tried to remain as unassuming as possible, to show Jaejoong he had no ulterior motives.

Jaejoong must have decided he could confide in Yunho, because suddenly he began to speak. “A couple of years ago, I used to go to a different school. There was a guy there — charming, sweet, funny, and attractive as hell. We dated for a little while. It…wasn’t a good relationship.”

Yunho reacted to the tremor in Jaejoong’s voice by pulling Jaejoong into him and wrapping his arms around Jaejoong’s shoulders. Jaejoong took comfort from Yunho’s embrace and continued on with his story.

“At first things were okay, but as time progressed, things became steadily worse. He didn’t treat me like a person, but more like a pretty trinket he could show off to all of his friends. I grew tired of it and tried to leave him, but he stopped me.”

“Did he hurt you?” Yunho asked quietly. Jaejoong’s silence was enough of an answer and Yunho held him tighter.

“Anyway,” Jaejoong continued, his voice growing soft. “I tried to get help from the school counselor, but they said I couldn’t prove anything so I had no case. He found out and he--” Jaejoong’s voice choked.

“You don’t have to tell me,” Yunho said, feeling sick.

“I want to,” Jaejoong said. “I’ve never told anybody before, except Yoochun and my family. I feel like I need to tell you, so I can move past it and not let it control my life anymore.”

“Okay,” Yunho said. He took a steadying breath. It was hard for him to hear what Jaejoong was telling him, unable to fathom how somebody could hurt a person like Jaejoong. But he knew it was harder for Jaejoong to be candid with him, and he needed to be strong. “What happened?”

It took Jaejoong a moment to compose himself, and when he began to speak again, his voice was quiet but steady. “He forced himself on me. I tried to fight him off, but he was too big and strong. I was so afraid he was going to hurt me. But luckily, Yoochun came looking for me. He fought him off while I ran away and called the police. My parents pulled me out of that school the very next day.”

“I’m sorry,” Yunho said, unable to say anything else.

Jaejoong turned in Yunho’s arms and looked at him directly for the first time since he began his story. “I’m sorry,” he said and held up a hand to stop Yunho’s flow of words. “I shouldn’t have let what that guy did to me cloud my perception of you. I should have just been honest from the start.”

“I understand why you felt hesitant to share this with me. I know it must have been hard. Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me now,” Yunho said and bent his head down to kiss Jaejoong on the cheek; however, Jaejoong intercepted the kiss and pressed his lips to Yunho’s.

“I really like you a lot, Yunho,” Jaejoong said and leaned back in for another toe-curling kiss.

\-----

Yoochun approached them on the quad the next day and flopped down next to Jaejoong. He rolled onto his back and placed his hands behind his head, shooting a knowing smile up at Jaejoong. “So, I gather you two made up.”

“No thanks to your meddling,” Jaejoong said. He reached down and flicked Yoochun in the forehead.

“Hey,” Yoochun groused, “without my meddling, you’d still be sulking all alone in your bedroom.”

“Nah,” Yunho said dismissively. “I would have won out eventually. He can’t get rid of me that easily.”

“Well, I’m glad somebody has the patience to deal with this man’s idiosyncrasies. Makes my job easier.”

“I am right here, you know,” Jaejoong said, his arms crossed across his chest and a fake moue twisting his lips.

“I could never forget you, Boo,” Yunho said and leaned in for a gentle kiss.

“Gross,” Yoochun complained, dodging the handful of grass Jaejoong threw at him


End file.
